


Very Good Friends

by httpseungmin



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Girls Kissing, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Marriage, Murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:40:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25705273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/httpseungmin/pseuds/httpseungmin
Summary: Under Hyejoo's gaze, Chaewon feels vulnerable, feels as though all of her is laid out for Hyejoo to see. She wouldn't have it any other way - Hyejoo looks at her like she's the most sought-out prize, and Chaewon wants nothing more than to be claimed.Based on mouserat-vevo's tumblr post: the year is 1347. my husband just died from "the plague" and i'm moving in with my female "companion" in a secluded mansion in the european country, we have no kids and two dogs and we seem unusually close. i call her my wife but historians call her my best friend. little does everyone know, she's both.
Relationships: Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m no expert on the 14th century, and I’m sure there are tons of historical inaccuracies within this story. I made a few searches but I have no idea if my sources were credible. I also didn’t bother researching any slang from that era. Sorry for being somewhat lazy :(

Looking at her husband, Park Chaewon knows there’s no one she hates more in this world. This wasn’t a loving relationship gone sour - she’d disliked him from the moment her parents introduced him as her chosen husband. Every day spent with him only fuelled her hatred.

As a housewife, Chaewon practically belonged to her husband. Side effects include cooking, cleaning, and doing anything else he asked of her. And maybe this would’ve been fine if he was at least nice about it. But he wasn’t.

“Fucking whore, why didn’t you clean this while I was at work?” he yells, referring to the beer he spilled not even two minutes ago.

Biting back a retort, she apologizes and grabs a mop.

_The animals are easier to clean up after,_ she thinks, glaring at the back of his head while mopping the floor aggressively.

Nevertheless, the promise of seeing Hyejoo motivated her to get through the next few hours. Knowing her friend will ask how she’s been, Chaewon quickly recaps everything her husband has done this week. _Yelled at me countless times. Beat me when I lost one of the cows. Forced himself on me when I was still asleep. Threw a bust at my head because I‘m not pregnant yet._ Chaewon scoffs. _I'd kill him before I ever carried his child._

Too drunk to function, her husband falls asleep within twenty minutes. Chaewon knows from experience that he’ll be out until the next morning, so she takes this opportunity to go see Hyejoo. 

Chaewon lets her mind wander as she walks through the small town of Elmford. She pictures herself as Hyejoo's lover, glimpses of her own hands on Hyejoo's body flashing through her mind. As she passes by her favourite bakery, she imagines she's stopping to pick up treats for Hyejoo. Procuring food for her husband is a drag, but the thought of doing it for a wife is a privilege in her eyes.

Chaewon's feet are aching by the time she knocks on Hyejoo's door, and she collapses on the couch the moment she's allowed inside.

"I hate him." Chaewon declares.

Hyejoo raises an eyebrow. "Well hello to you too."

"Sorry, that was rude of me." Chaewon says. "It's nice seeing you again."

Hyejoo sits down beside her and pulls Chaewon into her lap, making her friend flush red. "Don't worry about it, darling. What did he do this time?"

Chaewon recites her list, Hyejoo listening intently and growing more and more concerned with each incident.

"I wish he were dead." Chaewon finishes, burying her face in Hyejoo's neck.

She can practically see the gears turning in the other's head.

"You know, I'm sure that if you were to blame his death on the plague," Hyejoo starts cautiously, "you could get away with murdering him."

She expects Chaewon to be aghast at her proposal, but the words "just kidding" die on her tongue when Chaewon's face lights up.

"You're right." she gasps. "And his body would be burned, so there would be no evidence that I did it."

Hyejoo rubs circles on Chaewon's thigh with her thumb. "If you're actually going through with this, there's something I have to tell you."

Chaewon encourages her to continue.

"I was recently informed that my godparents were killed by the plague. Since they have no children of their own, they left me their secluded mansion in the European country." Hyejoo explains. "Once you've rid the earth of your husband, we can both leave this place behind and live there together, as companions. Feel free to bring your dogs. I'd quite enjoy having them there."

Chaewon brings a hand up to her open mouth, shocked. "That sounds perfect."

Perfect. No other word could describe the prospect of living in solitude with Son Hyejoo. Chaewon looks her in the eyes and exhales shakily.

She feels Hyejoo's hands fall on either side of her waist, prompting her to wring her own behind Hyejoo's neck. Both of their gazes occasionally flicker to the other's lips. Hyejoo pulls her closer until their faces are centimetres apart, silently daring Chaewon to make a move. Chaewon complies. She leans in, erasing the space between them when she presses her lips against Hyejoo's. Hyejoo kisses her back immediately, passionate and aggressive. Chaewon laces her fingers through Hyejoo's hair as the latter's find Chaewon's thighs. Their hands roam each other's bodies, their tongues fighting for dominance. Eventually Chaewon pulls away, gasping for air.

"The things I'll do to you when we live together..." Hyejoo says hungrily. "But that can't happen until your husband is out of the picture."

Chaewon toys with the pillow as everything that could go wrong becomes apparent to her. There was no guarantee that she would succeed in smothering her husband. And even if she did, what if no one believed her story? Possible consequences to her actions were either a beating from her husband, being locked up because she was in the same household as someone with the plague, or being publicly executed for murdering her husband. But the opportunity to be rid of him and spend the rest of her life with Hyejoo wasn't one she could pass up. 

It's a miracle that she's able to tie him to the bed without waking him up. She holds the pillow above him for a moment, hesitating, before shoving it on his face as hard as she could. At first, he doesn't react, but soon enough he wakes up, screams muffled as he scrambles to get free. Chaewon sobs, but applies more pressure. He struggles for some time before going limp, and she knows he's passed out. Still, her job isn't finished yet. She stays like this for a few more minutes before pulling back and checking his pulse. Horrified, she realizes she succeeded.

Chaewon lets go of the pillow and drops to her knees.

_I just killed someone._

By the time the body collectors arrive, Chaewon’s tears had dried, her stuffy nose the only indication that she’d been crying. Knowing that it was only a matter of time until she was deemed a potential carrier of the Black Death and confined to her house, she fills a bag with the more important belongings. Chaewon is out the door within minutes, her two border collies following closely behind.

“Chaewon!” Hyejoo calls the moment she sees her. She’s standing by a wagon, beckoning for her to get in.

With Hyejoo’s help, Chaewon manages to get both of her dogs in the back of the wagon, and puts her bag in as well. The two waste no time getting seated, ensuring that they're on their way before sunset.

"I spoke with Joohyun just before you arrived. Turns out she overheard us going over the plan while she was feeding the cows, and told a few other women, who decided to take a page out of your book." Hyejoo informs her casually.

Chaewon nearly chokes on her own spit. "You mean to tell me that others are killing their husbands as well?"

"Apparently. You're a trend-setter now." Hyejoo says playfully.

Chaewon watches the town shrink the further they get from it. Even from here, the church bells are audible, and she's reminded that someone could be lowering her husband's body in the neighbouring cemetery right this moment. Choosing not to think about that, she directs her train of thought elsewhere. Distracting herself proves easy when Hyejoo is sitting right next to her, soon falling asleep.

Hyejoo smiles fondly and presses a soft kiss to Chaewon's head. All in all, a pretty good day.

Chaewon wakes up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, but Hyejoo is holding her, and that's what counts.

"Good morning, beautiful." Hyejoo whispers. "Actually, it's still dusk. My mistake."

"You carried me in here?" It's more of a realization than a question.

Hyejoo grins cockily. "I did. Your bag is on that chair in the corner of the room, by the way, and the dogs are in the barn. I've got everything sorted out. Welcome to your new home."

" _Our_ new home." Chaewon mumbles (cutely, Hyejoo thinks), still tired.

"Ours," she confirms, stealing a kiss.

Chaewon sits up as if she'd just remembered something. "Hyejoo, are we lovers?" she asks, barely concealing the urgency in her voice.

Hyejoo doesn't seem surprised by the question, if anything she looks like she'd been expecting it. "I'd like to think we are. I've confessed my love for you on multiple occasions, with only God there to listen. I'd much rather you be present next time."

Chaewon's stomach fills with butterflies. That answer far exceeded her expectations. "I'm present right now."

Hyejoo turns to look her in the eyes. Under her gaze, Chaewon feels vulnerable, feels as though all of her is laid out for Hyejoo to see. She wouldn't have it any other way - Hyejoo looks at her like she's the most sought-out prize, and Chaewon wants nothing more than to be claimed.

"Park Chaewon, you've captivated me from the moment we first met, and my feelings for you have only grown stronger since then. I want to kiss you, I want to mark you, and I want to make you mine, because I'm already yours. I'm in love with you. No matter what happens, this will always be true."

Overcome with emotion, Chaewon prays that her voice will remain steady.

"I love you too, Hyejoo, to the moon and back. There's nothing in our way anymore. Make me yours."

And she does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For personal reasons (read: convenience), let's all just pretend that couches were a thing back then.
> 
> I love women so much and this chapter is me projecting. I'm always living my best life just by being a lesbian orbit~ ✌


	2. Chapter 2

"I've received word from Joohyun. More than forty women have murdered their husbands, and the authorities still haven't caught on."

Chaewon puts down her tea abruptly. "Forty? But it's only been a week!"

Her voice startles a nearby rabbit, whom she'd been hoping to lure closer with a handful of strawberries.

"You'd be surprised how many women in this town hate their husbands. And yet, they're still opposed to lesbianism." she remarks in a faux-casual tone.

Chaewon stays quiet, expecting her to elaborate. When she doesn't, she asks, "Are you lesbian?"

"Yes." Hyejoo answers, the ghost of a smile on her face. "I have no interest in men. Women, on the other hand..."

She trails off, but the sentiment is clear. Chaewon vaguely registers that she feels the same way.

"People think it's unnatural for a woman to love another woman. I say that's a foolish mindset. I wasn't born simply to reproduce, I was born to live my life before it's taken from me." Hyejoo states confidently.

"I've never really given it much thought," Chaewon admits, "but I think you're right. Why should gender have a say in who we're allowed to love?"

Hyejoo picks a flower from the ground, toying with it. "Ask anyone else that question and they'll quote the bible at you."

She leans over to tuck Chaewon's hair behind her ear before gently placing the flower there. This makes her lover smile, raising her hand to touch it.

"Then clearly they've never been married for love." Chaewon says softly. Last night, I dreamt that we were married. It breaks my heart to know that the church would never allow it to happen."

Hyejoo thinks for a moment. "Is marriage not an intimate union?"

"Yes." Chaewon answers, not quite sure where she's going with his.

"Then screw the church. We have each other and that's all we need."

Marriage and the church had been intertwined for longer than the two of them had been alive. The prospect of separating them was blasphemous; then again, so was the prospect of two women getting married.

"Stay here." Chaewon tells her, running into the house.

She sprints up the stairs and into their shared room, where she goes through her jewelry box. Soon enough, she spots the item she's looking for, and returns to Hyejoo as quickly as her legs will allow.

Sitting down on the blanket next to her, Chaewon shows her the ring.

"This was my grandmother's. In the center is a topaz, which, if I'm not mistaken, is our birthstone."

"It is," Hyejoo lets out, shakily extending her hand.

Chaewon slides the ring onto her finger, and places a kiss on it.

"It's so beautiful. I feel horribly, not having one to give you in return."

"There's no need." Chaewon frowns. "You've already provided me with this beautiful home - if anything, I should be ashamed that all I have to offer you is this ring."

Hyejoo takes Chaewon's hand into hers. "Nonsense. I also get your hand in marriage, don't I? That's more than enough."

_I get to spend the rest of my days with her._

Knowing this, Chaewon thinks she'll die happy.

"We know you're connected to all of this."

"I'm not."

"Over two hundred men murdered by their wives. And somehow, all of their stories trace back to you."

"My own husband is still alive. What makes you think I'm implicated?"

"Well, according to them, you know who started all of this."

"They must be misleading you."

"We can offer you twenty times your weekly salary if you tell the truth."

"I've been telling the truth this entire time."

"Your children have been looking a little scrawny lately. I'm sure they'd benefit from eating dinner every once and a while."

"It was Park Chaewon. She's currently staying with her companion, Son Hyejoo."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Joohyun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, to marry Son Hyejoo during a cottagecore picnic... A girl can dream. Also, does anyone know why it's spelled forty instead of fourty?


	3. Chapter 3

"And that one is the Big Dipper. If you follow the line made by those two stars, you'll find Polaris, the North Star. It's perfectly aligned with our planet's axis, so it looks as though we're spinning around it."

Hyejoo looks at her, impressed. "I married the smartest woman on the planet."

Chaewon wrinkles her nose. "That's far from true." she denies.

"I married a liar as well-" Chaewon cuts her off by kissing her. She's grinning when she pulls back, clearly impressed with herself.

Hyejoo returns her smile for a split-second before frowning. "Hey, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

As soon as the words leave her mouth, Chaewon hears it. Horses, approaching. Hyejoo sees them before she does.

"Constables!" she whispers urgently.

Chaewon takes her hand and makes a run for it. At first, she thinks they might go unnoticed, but a male voice calls out, "They're headed that way!"

Realistically, they didn't stand a chance. Outrunning a horse was unheard of. Things went from bad to worse when Hyejoo lets go of her hand and sprints the opposite way.

"I dropped the ring!" she cries.

"Hyejoo, don't!" Chaewon yells, but it's too late. One of the men grabs Hyejoo by the collar, and Chaewon stops in her tracks.

"I'm so sorry." Hyejoo chokes out.

Chaewon wishes she could run to her, hug her, tell her everything's going to be okay, but by now she herself is being apprehended.

All she can do is call out desperately, "I love you."

"Park Chaewon, found guilty for the murder of her husband, is now sentenced to public execution by burning."

"Burn the witch!" someone shouts, and the crowd chants in agreement.

Hyejoo tries to get to her, but the knights push her back. Chaewon watches each failed attempt. She stares into her wife's eyes as the pile below her is set alight, trying again and again to free herself from the ropes, but to no avail. The fire is growing at a monstrous pace, and she can feel the overwhelming heat it produces.

_My time has come too early_ , she thinks. Her skin must be blistering by now, but she can't be sure. She refuses to look away from Hyejoo, though their eyes are filled with tears and a thick veil of smoke separates them.

"Til death do us part!" she screams, her voice broken.

Her call doesn't go unanswered. "Til death do us part!"

_I got to spend the rest of my days with her._

Knowing this, Chaewon dies happy.

"There are..." the teacher pauses to check the clock, "ten minutes left. Since all of you are finished your tests, I'll tell you a story that isn't part of the curriculum."

This gets a mixed reaction; groans from the students who hate history class, excited whispers from the ones who enjoy it.

"Have any of you heard of the Elmford Husband Purge?"

The general consensus is no. "In 1347, during the Black Death epidemic, a woman by the name of Park Chaewon suffocated her husband, then blamed his passing on the plague. This inspired many other women to do the same. A total of 276 deaths by suffocation were recorded that year, all the victims being married men."

The teacher, now having piqued his class' interest, continues. "Following her husband's murder, Park Chaewon moved in with her best friend, Son Hyejoo. They lived together until Chaewon was executed a few months later. Rumour has it, Hyejoo committed suicide shortly after so that they could be together, only waiting until their dogs died to do so."

"She killed herself?" one student whispers to her friend. "Hyejoo's not her best friend, she's her _wife_."

Little does everyone know, she's both.

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up being shorter than I thought it would be when I first planned it. I genuinely enjoyed writing it, and I can only hope that you genuinely enjoyed reading it! HyeWon seemed so fitting for this storyline, it practically wrote itself.
> 
> Don't bother leaving constructive criticism, I write for fun and I'm not looking to improve. If you don't feel like commenting (understandable), just leave a kudos so I know my content is appreciated~


End file.
